Rescue dog finds purpose in helping Ventura resident

CARMEN SMYTH/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Mike McAdams plays with Blaze, his newly acquired golden retriever-setter assistance dog. Blaze alerts his owner to different sounds in the house such as the door bell, cellphone and kitchen timer.

Ventura County Star

CARMEN SMYTH/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Mike McAdams demonstrates how Blaze, his golden retriever-setter assistance dog directs him to sounds in the house like the door bell.

Ventura County Star

CARMEN SMYTH/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Mike McAdams demonstrates how Blaze, his golden retriever-setter mix assistance dog, alerts him to different sounds in the house such as the door bell, cellphone and kitchen timer.

Ventura County Star

CARMEN SMYTH/SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Blaze, a golden retriever-setter assistance dog, gets the same stuffed animal as a treat every time he successfully alerts his hearing-impaired owner Mike McAdams to different sounds in the house such as the door bell, cellphone and kitchen timer.

Ventura County Star

Blaze, the dog, has had many new beginnings.

The 4-year-old pooch's latest incarnation is as an assistance dog to Ventura resident Mike McAdams.

The setter-retriever mix was welcomed into McAdams' home with a big hug this week for training. The new owner said that having an assistance dog will make his life safer.

"I sleep without my hearing aids, and the dog can let me know if the fire alarm is going off or if the doorbell is ringing," said McAdams, 34, who was born hearing-impaired. "I couldn't hear until I was 3, and I couldn't talk until I was 5."

McAdams has lived in Ventura since April 2012, ever since falling for now girlfriend Catie Boswell, whom he met in 2011 while visiting friends in downtown Ventura.

Blaze will also help McAdams when they're outside. The new pet owner said when he walks he can't hear bicycles come up behind him, and he can't hear traffic noises.

McAdams will also take the dog to work with him at Dick's Sporting Goods in Oxnard.

Blaze comes from the Malibu-based Sam Simon Foundation, which trains rescued dogs as assistance dogs when possible. He arrived at the foundation in 2010 from Ventura County Animal Services. Most of the dogs trained by the nonprofit come from the county shelter.

Lori Ramey, a certified assistance dog instructor with the foundation, said she was looking through recent strays and spotted Blaze. He appeared to have been neglected in a backyard, Ramey said.

Nevertheless, the dog was considered such a desirable pet that he was put into a lottery, a common practice for popular shelter animals. In this case, the Sam Simon Foundation was the winner. The foundation was created by animal advocate and Hollywood writer Sam Simon, who helped create "The Simpsons."

Donna Gillesby, deputy director of the Ventura County Animal Services, said the foundation offers a great opportunity for the animals and the people who are fortunate enough to be able to adopt the dogs.

"I've seen the facility, and they give care and love to animals," Gillesby said. "They are very compassionate to the animals, and they give these dogs jobs where they can help people."

Blaze was trained first as a psychiatric dog for veterans with post-traumatic stress syndrome, but took ill. He was returned to the foundation where they discovered he had a protein allergy, Ramey said.

Placed on a special vegetarian diet and healthy again, Blaze was retrained to be an assistance dog for someone who is hearing-impaired, Ramey said.

If the dogs don't work out as assistance animals, loving homes are found for them where they can be house-pets, according to Ramey.

This week, she is working with McAdams to teach him how to keep Blaze's training sharp. Ramey said the bond between man and dog, which only met two days ago, has been immediate.

"This is a very easy placement because I have to transfer our bond to someone else," she said. "Mike's doing a great job, and he does things right the first time."

To demonstrate the dog's skills, McAdams set a kitchen timer to ring. When the alarm sounded, the dog ran to find the source of the sound.

Blaze then signaled by pawing for McAdams' attention. The dog will continue to try to get his owner's attention until the man gets up with the dog to find the source of the noise.

McAdams said he is excited about his new friend and companion. An avid golfer, he said he can't wait to get the dog out on the links, where the animal will let him know when golf carts are coming from behind.

"It's good. I love dogs anyway, and now I have a helper. I don't have to stress about sleeping through a fire alarm and I don't have to worry about being run over," McAdams said.